To call Ferrari’s TRC for 1957 “one of the prettiest Ferraris built”, as preeminent Ferrari historian Richard F. Merritt put it, is surely an understatement. It is a design without fault—a timeless, downright breath-taking execution of Italian motoring passion, married to one of the greatest sports racing chassis of all time, and in this particular car, complemented by an aggressively unmistakable, shiver-inducing exhaust note that the trained Ferrarista’s ear will immediately peg as that of a proper “Testa Rossa”.

Ferrari Importer Extraordinaire

John von Neumann’s life story was the stuff of adolescent fantasy. Born to an Austrian family, he arrived in the U.S. as a student in 1939, joining the military during wartime and promptly beginning his sports car racing career, associating with the future ‘who’s who’ of Southern California’s car culture and co-founding the California Sports Car Club. While he ramped up his dealership activities on the West Coast with his wife Eleanor, importing the most famous (and, decades later, priceless!) European sports cars from Porsches to Ferraris, he continued his successful international racing career. On the dealership side, a young Richie Ginther helped him manage Ferrari Representatives of California, and indeed, his influence on Ferrari history cannot be underestimated.

0680 MDTR

The Ferrari on offer stands in a class all its own. Offered from single ownership for the past 30-plus years, its presentation at auction may very well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is one of only two 2.5-litre 625 TRCs ever built by Ferrari, each specifically ordered by the larger-than-life West Coast Ferrari distributor Johnny von Neumann.

According to Bill Rudd, crew chief Harold Broughton and others, the 625 TRC was von Neumann’s favourite Ferrari, partly because of its superior handling—this from a man who owned a pontoon-fendered Testa Rossa, nearly 10 four-cylinder Ferraris in all, Porsche 550 Spyders and every other imaginable world-class sports car. In fact, the December 1957 edition of Road & Track asserted, “both von Neumann and Ginther say that [the 625 TRC] is the best handling and easiest of all Ferraris to drive in a race”.

Chassis 0680 MDTR is highly documented with complete history from new. It is the ninth of only 19 TRCs of all kinds built by Ferrari in total for 1957, including the Type 500 cars. Completed on 26 June 1957, it was finished in Dark Grey Metallic with a Maroon Stripe and purchased the following month, along with its sister car 0672 MDTR, by von Neumann.

Although 0680 MDTR raced mainly in California, its first two outings were in Europe, after von Neumann personally collected it from the Ferrari factory. He first took it to Salzburg, Austria in August, 1957, where he competed in the famed Gaisberg hill climb (“Grosser Bergpreis von Östererreich”), winning his class in only the car’s first outing. The incredibly fast and agile Ferrari performed equally well in Switzerland, finishing second in the Grosser Bergpreis der Schweiz in Tiefencastel-Lenzerheide in central Switzerland. Extraordinary period images attest to this car’s successful early outings, as it powered up the mountain, leaving Maseratis, Porsches and other Ferraris in its wake.

Having conquered its Alpine competition, 0680 MDTR was transported to California, where Appendix C rules did not yet apply. The car was modified during September/October 1957 with a single wraparound windscreen and metal tonneau cover. Its first race in the U.S. was at the very first race held at the famed Laguna Seca race track, which had been built for 1957 after the Pebble Beach road races were deemed too dangerous. Again, von Neumann skilfully piloted this car to a podium finish, 2nd, once again.

It raced nine more times during the remainder of 1957 and 1958 at Pebble Beach, Pomona, Hawaii and Santa Barbara, with von Neumann scoring two victories and three podiums during this prolific period. Other notable race outings include Laguna Seca on 15 June 1958, with future Ferrari Formula 1 driver Richie Ginther winning with 0680 MDTR. Josie von Neumann, the daughter of John and Eleanor and an accomplished racer in her own right, drove 0680 MDTR at the Vaca Valley SCCA National race in October, 1958, finishing 5th overall and 1st in class. Surely the arrival of the grey-liveried, von Neumann-entered 625 TRC at any start/finish line on the West Coast must have utterly disappointed the competition.

The 625 TRC was raced by John von Neumann at Pomona on 1 February 1959. On 26 April, Richie Ginther, the reigning 1958 Pacific Coast Sports Car champion, drove the Ferrari to a fifth-place finish at Avandaro, Mexico. Unfortunately, and despite all the success on both road and track, von Neumann’s marriage came to an end and the Ferrari dealership was sold. As such, 0680 MDTR was sold without an engine to successful owner-driver Stan Sugarman in Phoenix, Arizona, who had just sold his Maserati Birdcage.

A Chevrolet V-8 and a Borg-Warner four-speed gearbox were installed while in Sugarman’s ownership in 1960. 0680 MDTR was often driven in qualifying races by Jim Connor and handed over to car owner Sugarman for main events. The duo frequently placed on the podium in the races they entered. In fact, the car’s provenance is well documented throughout the 1960s as its owners successfully campaigned the car in and around the West Coast.

Single Ownership for Three Decades

Between 1969 and 1978, the car passed through a known succession of owners until Phil Sledge sold it to Bob Taylor. In 1981, 0680 MDTR was acquired from Mr. Taylor by the current owner, who commissioned its restoration, which was performed during 1982 and 1983 by David McCarthy at Phil Reilly in Corte Madera, California, where a Ferrari V-12 engine to Testa Rossa specification was fitted, and the car was painted red and fitted with a full-width windscreen.

Following its restoration, 0680 MDTR was shown at Pebble Beach in 1985, where none other than Jackie Stewart introduced the car to the hundreds of onlookers as “a car that has quite a record behind it. Many west coast races. Von Neumann himself drove it”. The roar of the V-12 engine was greeted by applause on the 18th green at Pebble Beach, from where the car resumed its competition career the same year at the prestigious Monterey Historic Automobile Races. (Extraordinary period video captures this event and is available for review by interested parties upon request or on RM’s website.) In fact, the dedicated owner has returned to Laguna Seca for this event annually ever since, except for 2002 and 2010. Notably, 0680 MDTR finished most often ahead of the pontoon-fendered Testa Rossas in attendance.

In all, the current owner raced 0680 MDTR on 113 occasions during a post-restoration vintage-racing career even more prolific than the car’s extensive period racing history.

What’s more, the car competed in the Ferrari Maserati Historic Challenge and was entered in a number of classic touring events. In 1999, at the 25th annual edition of the Monterey Historic Races, the 625 TRC won the Chopard Award for Presentation and Performance. In 2005, the Ferrari returned to the show field with another appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Most recently, the Ferrari V-12 engine was completely rebuilt and fitted with new cylinder heads by world renowned noted Ferrari expert Patrick Ottis prior to the 2011 Monterey Historic Races. The brakes were also serviced with a rebuild of the brake hydraulic system and new carbon-fibre brake-shoe linings.

The car is powerful yet flexible and non-temperamental, harkening back to the long-lost era when high-performance cars were driven to the track, raced all-out and then driven back home afterward. It is most enjoyable and exhilarating in both environments today. With known history from new, 0680 MDTR has enjoyed coverage in several publications, including the 1957 Ferrari Yearbook and several editions of Cavallino, as well as such books as American Sports Car Racing in the 1950s and Antoine Prunet’s Ferrari: Sports Racing and Prototype Competition Cars.

Professionally maintained, both cosmetically and mechanically, 0680 MDTR is in excellent condition. As the owner stated,

Every year I buttoned the car up for the winter, drained the fluids, covered it snugly and completely such that its shape did not even show. Then months later when spring came around, and I’d pull all the covers off and see the car gleaming there in its sleek curves, even after 30 years of owning it, driving it, touching it, and looking at it, I would be astounded all over again at how beautiful it was. Then I would open the door, slip into the corduroy seat, turn on the ignition and fuel pump, give the 6 Webers a few pumps of the gas pedal, and push the starter button. Blam! It jumps to life, with that gorgeous smooth ripping sound of the V12 that is never ear-splitting, while at the same instant you not only hear it, but you also feel it, as it resonates and vibrates in your chest and body as well as your ears.

Perhaps most attractively, 0680 MDTR is offered at auction with its original, matching numbers 2.5-litre Ferrari Type 625 LM racing engine, which since its separation from its original chassis over 50 years ago, led an interesting life of its own, passing through Luigi Chinetti and on to Pete Lovely, who installed it in a Cooper Formula One racing car. Now, decades later, the remarkable original engine, which is exceptionally rare and desirable in its own right, has been reunited with its chassis to complement the prodigious power of the V-12 currently in the car.

As such, the possibilities for this Ferrari are virtually limitless. The new owner may choose to thoroughly enjoy the V-12 engine car as is or utilize its original four-cylinder motor and with relatively little effort, refinish the car in its original grey livery with dual hood bulges, thereby returning it to its von Neumann-era appearance and surely delighting the judges and fellow drivers at future Pebble Beach, Le Mans Classic or Mille Miglia retrospectives and concours events.

With an incredibly rich and highly documented provenance to match, potential interested parties should see an RM representative to view the extensive history file, containing restoration receipts, historical images, vintage magazine articles and even period video.

1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spider

The second of only 15 Ferrari 375 MM spiders bodied by Pinin Farina

Winner of two national championships in Argentina in 1954-55

18 podium finishes, including 11 wins, between 1954-57

Discovered in Uruguay in 1983; restored in Italy 1984-86

Two Mille Miglia Storicas and four Monterey Historics, four Colorado Grands

Ex-Count Vittorio Zanon, Yoshiho Matsuda, John McCaw

The World Sports Car Championship was in its infancy in 1954, yet the characters, races and cars involved have become the stuff of automotive legend and racing fantasy. The world’s most famous drivers were bravely risking life and limb and travelling round the world to secure victory at the great racetracks and road courses, from Sebring and Le Mans to the Mille Miglia in Northern Italy and the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico. It was in these early, formative years that the great European sports car manufacturers competed head to head, not only with professional works drivers (many with Formula 1 experience) but also with countless privateers and self-financed gentlemen drivers who were pitted against the factory entries on the starting grids, and held their own.

The ‘54 season comprised six endurance races, contested by the likes of Jaguar’s C- and D-Types, Maserati’s A6GCS, Porsche’s 550 Spyder, Cunningham’s C-4R and Aston Martin’s DB3S. The Scuderia Ferrari won three of the six races that season, beginning with the 1000 Km of Buenos Aires on 24 January. The starting grid of this race read like a who’s-who of sports car racing: “Fon” de Portago in a Ferrari 250 MM, Maurice Trintignant, Louis Rosier, Roy Salvadori and the Americans Masten Gregory, Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby in an Allard, each of whom were early in their careers and had yet to make a start in Formula 1. Joining those sports car heavyweights were about 15 local Argentinean privateers, including the polo player Carlos Menditeguy and, in the case of the Ferrari offered here, José Maria Ibáñez, a 33-year-old with experience in racing Ferraris who enjoyed considerable success in 1953 with a Ferrari 225S Vignale Spyder as well as an Allard in a Buenos Aires event, setting fastest lap. Ibáñez started the year first in a Ferrari single-seater at Rio de Janeiro before he returned to Buenos Aires for the first race of the World Sports Car Championship, which took place at the two-year-old Autódromo 17 de Octubre in conjunction with a stretch of nearby highway.

The car he entered was a brand-new Ferrari 375 MM powered by Aurelio Lampredi’s Formula race-proven and very powerful 4.5-litre V-12 engine, which had been purchased new by Enrique Diaz Saenz Valiente, a fellow racing driver and competitive Argentinean sport shooter who won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in 1948. With top speed approaching a blinding 180 miles per hour, 0-100 mph in 11.5 seconds and a shiver-inducing exhaust note, this car demanded the highest driving skills. This 375 MM had been completed in December the previous year after Pinin Farina built the svelte sports racing body. Finished in the Argentinean colours of pale blue with a yellow stripe, the car was shipped to South America with 10 other Ferraris and 10 Maseratis with the identity of chassis number 0374 AM—a switch made by the factory from its originally designated 0362 AM to satisfy a client willing to pay for the car immediately. Such identity changes were not uncommon by the Ferrari factory for a variety of reasons, including tax savings. In fact, of the fifteen 375 MMs built, a remarkable four cars received different chassis numbers.

By the time the raced started, Ibáñez diced successfully with Nino Farina and Umberto Maglioli, in the winning factory 375 MM, and held his own against the Porsches, Maseratis and other Ferraris in the race. Unfortunately, on lap 11 of the race, his co-driver Ignacio Janices flipped 0374 AM at speed at the Avenida de la Paz roundabout, escaping injury. Despite this unsuccessful outing, it should be noted that Ibáñez returned to the same venue the following year, winning the race outright in a Ferrari 375 Plus.

Following the damage to 0374 AM, the Ferrari was repaired and repainted red with a black hood and white nose. Ibáñez entered two more races before Diaz Saenz Valiente got behind the wheel and, in testament to his tremendous skill, won seven races in the rest of 1954 and the Argentine Sports Car Championship. Diaz Saenz Valiente won the Argentine 500 Miles at Rafaela on 23 May, the Buenos Aires Autodrome Handicap on 27 June, the Gran Premio Inverno on 4 July, the 1st Gran Premio Independencia on 11 July and the 4th Gran Premio Bodas de Plate on 5 September—an extraordinary achievement for a Ferrari chassis that was less than one year old!

Diaz Saenz Valiente’s greatest victory, however, was in the Turismo Carretera road race, organised by the Tres Arroyos Club on 11 September. It was a rigorous 368-kilometre loop of paved and dirt roads, six hours south of Buenos Aires, that had to be covered twice. Juan Manuel Fangio excelled at this kind of stock car racing, and the club decided to admit a sports car class.

Diaz Saenz Valiente drove his race car the 1,168-kilometre round trip to the 736-kilometre race and won at an average speed of over 210 km/h. His time of three hours, 28 minutes and 24 seconds was 25 minutes ahead of the closest Turismo Carretera entry and his speed on the straights exceeded 275 km/h—this, in a sports racing car with a low-cut windscreen, minimal driver protection and a rip-snorting V-12 under the hood.

In an interview in El Grafico, he described how he had persuaded a friend to fly his plane in front of the Ferrari to frighten away birds, but the idea hadn’t worked, because his car was faster.

“During the first lap, I was passing the first control point at 245 km/h, and I found it difficult to see the instruments, because the car vibrated—and because I had my head in the wind. The birds proved quite a problem because at the high speed I was driving, I did not give them time to fly away, and I crashed into them. There were feathers all over, and the Ferrari finished the race with its bodywork full of dents”.

Saenz Valiente would drive s/n 0374 AM once more at the Buenos Aires Spring Races, which he won, then ordered a 375 Plus and sold s/n 0374 AM to Castro Cranwell. Cranwell resold the car to Cesar Rivero and Raul Najurieta, who would do most of the driving. Najurieta’s first race was against none other than Diaz Saenz Valiente in Buenos Aires and he finished second.

Najurieta and Rivero teamed up at the Buenos Aires 1000 Km on 23 January 1955 and finished second to Diaz Saenz Valiente again. Najurieta hit his stride, trading first and second places with Diaz Saenz Valiente through the rest of the season, finally winning the Argentinean championship, the second straight championship for s/n 0374 AM.

Najurieta could not repeat his success in 1956 and 1957, with one exception. He won the 500 Miles of Argentina at Rafaela in June 1956, with a plaster cast on his broken right leg. The car’s race history ended with a 1957 crash, and it was modified with an American V-8 for street use.

Discovered in Montevideo in 1983, s/n 0374 AM was shipped to Italy and bought by Count Vittorio Zanon di Valgiurata, then-president of the Italian A.S.I, who commissioned its restoration between 1984 and 1986. Zanon purchased a correct 375 MM engine, number 0376, from noted Ferrari historian Richard Merritt in Bethesda, Maryland and entered the car in the 1987 Mille Miglia Storica. He then sold the car to Giorgio Perfetti of Switzerland, who entered the 1988 Mille Miglia.

In August 1989, 0374 AM came to the U.S. before being acquired by noted collector Yoshiyuki Hayashi in Tokyo, and then Yoshiho Matsuda. Subsequent owner and Ferrari collector Chris Cox raced and showed the car between 1998 and 1999 at such venues as the Monterey Historic Races and the famed Cavallino Classic in Florida before its acquisition by yet another well-respected Ferrari collector, John McCaw. McCaw enjoyed the car on multiple driving events, having it overhauled and maintained mechanically by Ferrari specialists DK Engineering and John Pearson. Having since been refinished in red and black, the car was finally acquired by its present owner in 2006, a recognised Ferrari authority and enthusiast. Since that time, the car has proven to be an extraordinary event car, participating and successfully completing four Colorado Grand events. RM specialists can confirm the extraordinary performance and pavement-pounding acceleration of this race-bred 375 MM, as it wound its way through the sinuous Rockies. Its exhaust note is simply intoxicating, and the power from its 340-horsepower big block, triple four-barrel carburetted and magnetoed, racing Lampredi 12-cylinder engine is nothing short of spine-snapping.

For the dedicated vintage racer and rally event participant, the offering of 0374 AM is an opportunity not to be missed. It has been featured in numerous publications, from Classic & Sports Car to Cavallino, and is well documented with period images and an extensive history file. It is, of course, at its core a stunning example of Ferrari’s most potent model in 1953: an all-conquering sports racing car piloted in period by Argentina’s most successful gentlemen drivers with back-to-back Argentinean championships. The new owner now has the privilege of writing the next chapter of its glorious history, from the corkscrew at Laguna Seca to the starting grid in Brescia.

Raced by Michael Schumacher on his way to the 2000 Driver’s Championship

Tested extensively by Luca Badoer

One of only 8 examples built

First Ferrari designed entirely in the Maranello wind tunnel

Powerful 820 PS V-10 Engine

Restored by the Ferrari factory in 2008

Ferrari Classiche certification

The conclusion of the 1999 Formula 1 season saw Ferrari take home the Constructor’s Championship, a feat the manufacturer had not achieved since 1983. Never content with anything but total success, the Scuderia began off-season work on a new car that could further challenge the day’s formidable McLarens and potentially return prodigy driver Michael Schumacher to the Driver’s Championships, which he had enjoyed several years earlier with the Benetton team.

Led by chief designer Rory Byrne, Ferrari’s technical team started from scratch with a mandate for improved aerodynamics, a pursuit that was facilitated by the company’s new wind tunnel in Maranello. The resulting F1-2000 model was the first Ferrari to be conceived entirely in the wind tunnel, a milestone in race car development. Fundamentally revising the weight distribution of the primary components, Byrne and his team significantly lowered the centre of gravity from the prior car, improving aerodynamic efficiency and tyre wear. The suspension was modified with an improved design and new materials, and for the first time, it featured a comprehensive use of carbon composites.

An all-new seven-speed paddle-actuated sequential transmission was mated to a new engine block, a 3-litre V-10 capable of developing 820 PS. Wrapped in a skin-tight shell of carbon fibre and Kevlar-reinforced epoxy, the F1-2000 débuted with a commanding 1-2 finish at the season opening Australian Grand Prix, driven by Mr Schumacher and teammate Rubens Barrichello. By the end of the 2000 season, the F1-2000 had taken the checkered flag 10 times, and in the process, earning Mr Schumacher his 3rd Driver’s Championship and Ferrari a repeat of the Constructor’s Championship. The victories marked the first time in 21 years that Ferrari earned both crowns and paved the way for four more dual championships over the next half a decade.

Chassis number 204 is one of only eight cars produced and has the unusual distinction of being the most minimally raced example. Accruing only 1,128 km over its roughly 18 months of testing, qualifying and racing, 204 was driven on the Fiorano proving track by Luca Badoer in early July 2000, before being assigned to Schumacher for the Austrian Grand Prix on 16 July. Qualifying, respectively, for the 4th and 3rd positions on the starting grid, both Schumacher and Barrichello were immediately trailing the McLarens of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. Before one lap was completed, the charging Hondas of Jarno Trulli and Ricardo Zonta, who started in 5th and 6th, made contact with both Ferraris, resulting in a caution lap and an early retirement for Schumacher and 204.

This car subsequently returned to Fiorano for further testing by Badoer, with Schumacher taking several laps on 9 August, in preparation for the Hungarian Grand Prix of 13 August, where the German driver took 1st overall in chassis 203. After several more months of testing by Badoer, including an accident-causing mechanical failure at the Circuit de Catalunya outside of Barcelona in January 2001, 204 was retired and retained by then-Scuderia manager Jean Todt, who now serves as president of the FIA. On 29 March, 2004, chassis 204 was authenticated by Maranello headquarters with full Ferrari Classiche paperwork.

Purchased by the current owner in 2006, this F1-2000 was restored to peak operating condition in 2008 by the Ferrari factory, a process that cost nearly 150,000 euros, as reflected by receipts that accompany the car’s documentation. This work included outfitting 204 with a new, proper Tipo 049 engine, which has since been driven only approximately 400 kilometres.

With its chiselled athleticism and nearly boundless power, this wonderfully presented and sparingly campaigned F1-2000 is an indelible piece of motorsports history, as it was one of the crucial components of the dual championship 2000 season and enjoyed by the Ferrari Scuderia and Mr Schumacher. Equally worthy of distinguished exhibition as a display piece or the pulse-pounding competition for which it is now ideally prepared, this thrilling F1-2000 is a race-ready example that should capture the hearts of discerning motorsports collectors and Formula 1 enthusiasts everywhere.

In November 1948, at the Turin Show, Ferrari unveiled the first Ferrari at show in the company’s history. On the stand were both the 166MM and 166 Inter, a pair of racing and road variations, respectively. Between 1948 and 1951, Ferrari sold some 38 Inters, plus around 46 examples of the 166MM, in various body styles created by various coach builders. This not only put money into Ferrari’s racing coffers, but also demonstrated his ability to juggle both racing and selling.

The 166MM and 166 Inter on display at the Turin Show were dressed in coachwork by Touring of Milan. Unlike the MM Barchetta, the Inter was a coupé and the first road going Ferrari to be produced in any real numbers. It was designed by Carrozzeria Touring’s styling chief, Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni. Touring used its patented Superleggera coach building system for the body’s construction. Using the same basic mechanical setup as the 166MM, the Inter was a more civilised package, intended for the road rather than racing. The wheelbase was stretched 300 mm, providing enough additional interior space for two small rear seats. The frame was of tubular construction, with coachwork of the buyer’s selection. Power was supplied via a front-engine, 110 bhp, V-12, breathing through a single twin-choke Weber carburettor and 5-speed manual transmission. Top speed was around 178 km/h.

Enzo Ferrari had a keen interest in his new Inter. Said his son Piero in a 2001 interview, “You must remember that my father was then 50 years old. Whilst his name would become famous with our sports cars, he had a very strong affinity to the 2+2 because of their comfort and room”.

Chassis No. 015 S belongs to the initial series of touring coupés produced. It was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1949 and then sold to its first owner by Ferrari through Carlo Botticelli to Paolo Castelnuovo on 1 July 1949. Just two months later, its owner showed the car at the Concours d’Elegance at Villa d’Este in Lake Como, Italy. It remained in the possession of Castelnuovo until he sold the car to Massimo Alesi, its second owner, on 1 October 1953.

A succession of owners followed, with it spending a period in South Africa in the 1960s and then finding its way to the US. In the early 1980s, it was purchased by well-known Ferrari connoisseur, Peter Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe kept the 015 S for some 10 years, showing it at various Ferrari events before it found its way into France and then finally back to Italy.

A stylish early Ferrari with known history to this present day, it benefits from a full restoration by well-known Italian specialists, including Autosport in Modena for the bodywork and Luppi for the interior. Certainly a rare and stylish 1940s Ferrari coupé, its Ferrari Classiche certification only adds to its immense desirability.

012I is one of the most charismatic Ferraris we’ve had the pleasure of representing. This very early example was the ninth Ferrari built, according to the chassis sequence, and the sixth of the extremely competitive 166 (two-litre) Spyder Corsas. It was a potent weapon, regularly discharged in capable hands and its racing record is illustrious, certainly equal to or exceeding all 166 SCs. 012I’s career was punctuated with numerous upgrades to its drivetrain and coachwork to remain competitive.

012I began its ‘life’ as a 166 Inter with cycle-winged bodywork by Ansaloni, one of the factory race cars to become known as ‘Spyder Corsas’. Completed in May, 1948, it just missed entry into the 1948 Mille Miglia, alongside its sister car, 010I, driven by Tazio Nuvolari. Under the Scuderia Ferrari flag, 012I was first deployed as a Grand Prix racer in the Bari GP, piloted by Ferdinando Righetti. Next came the Jun Mantua, (Giampiero Bianchetti), then on to the Pescara GP, where Count Bruno Sterzi garnered the car’s first podium trophy, finishing an impressive second overall. More success was to come at the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti, with Sterzi finishing ninth overall with co-pilot Enzo Monari. This event was the occasion of 021I’s first engine transplant (believed to be 022I, now in the first Barchetta, 0002M). Thereafter, in the car’s inaugural season, factory driver Giovanni Bracco brought further victories to Ferrari in hill climbs, starting with the Coppa d’Oro Dolomiti and the Rocco di Papa Hill Climb, where Bracco achieved an astonishing first place overall, winning the Gallenga Cup.

It was thus that Giovanni Bracco, an impatient young man from Cossila, Italy became the first ex-factory owner of 012I in early 1949. Bracco was an extrovert who loved food, women and the high life. After the death of his father, Bracco discovered a talent for road racing and did so with a passion. His motto was, famously, “Either it goes or I crash it”.

Bracco and 012I competed in at least 13 different races in 1949, though not without some sweat and frustration. The Ferrari motor from 1948 required, as it was once said, acrobatic feats to operate. In those days, racing fuel was a blend of gasoline and alcohol. Once started, one had to lick a finger and touch the exhaust manifold to verify that all 12 cylinders were firing correctly. After bringing the motor up to temperature, it was necessary to change the spark plugs–not an easy task. As a result, 012I became known as “Il Chiodo di Bracco”, or just “Chiodo” (literally meaning “nail”). With at least 13 recorded entries, Chiodo was remarkably active in Bracco’s hands in 1949, sometimes co-piloted by Ferrari Grand Prix driver, Umberto Maglioli.

Bracco and Maglioli’s first race together was in the Giro di Sicilia, followed by entry into the Mille Miglia (24 April, 1949), with Bracco finishing sixth overall in the Grand Prix di San Remo in between.

Though he raced in Grand Prix and endurance road races, such as the Mille Miglia, with Chiodo, it was his mastery of the hill climb that earned him the title, “Il Re di Montagna”, King of the Hill, for 1949. Bracco took first place overall at Como-Lieto Colle and again at the Corsa al Brinzio, both in May of that year. No fewer than five further hill climbs were contended with Bracco in Chiodo that year, every one a podium finish, including yet another first place at Pontedecimo-Giovi. For this remarkable effort, Bracco officially became the 1949 Italian Hill Climb Champion.

A footnote here opens a particularly interesting chapter in motorsport history, with Ferrari’s contribution to another racing dynasty. At the conclusion of the 1949 season, Count Vittorio Emanuele Marzotto acquired Chiodo from Bracco for a reputed one million lire, the first Ferrari of a long line that were to become part of Scuderia Marzotto, established by the five dashing and adventurous sons of textile mogul Gaetano Marzotto. The car was re-registered by its second owners, the Marzottos, with Vicenza plates ‘VI 18132.’

Being courtesans by trade, the Marzotto brothers were famous for ‘re-clothing’ the cars in their stable, as routinely as some of us might change our jacket. Deciding that Chiodo was too “Nuvolari” in appearance, the Marzottos commissioned a re-body that was termed “Spyder da Corsa Ferrari projecto Mille Miglia 1949”, or as we now know it, a Barchetta. Entrusted to Carrozzeria Fontana, this initial collaboration emulates the popular design of the Touring-bodied Ferrari, the legendary 166 MM ‘Barchetta’ (little boat). It is this variation from original that has survived, remarkably intact, through the present day.

Fontana’s homage to the Touring Barchetta was fresh and attractive, with Chiodo’s new wrapper an arguably more graceful execution than the well-known Touring version. Aside from its longer, more seductive rear profile, notable dissimilarities include lack of a boot aperture, a full width, peaked windscreen and a distinctive aggressive stance.

Wasting no time after completion, Giannino Marzotto entered Chiodo in the 1950 Targa Florio (2 April 1950), with co-pilot Marco Crosara. (Ultimately, they abandoned the race to save the life of their friend and competitor, Fabrizio Serena.)

Soon, however, it was time for the Mille Miglia, this time entered by Vittorio with the car’s designer Paolo Fontana as his co-pilot.

Displaying the now-iconic race number ‘722’, the official entry indicated Chiodo as a ‘Type 195S Barchetta Fontana’ (indicating what is presumed to be another engine upgrade, to 2.3 litres). The result was a stunning ninth overall finish, representing an estimable Sixth in Class, and beating the Ferrari team entries–to the enduring consternation of “Il Commendatore” himself.

This event may mark the beginning of the love/hate relationship that Enzo Ferrari had with the Marzotto brothers–young men who dared to alter his designs but refused to lose when competing head-to-head with factory entries.

Subsequent to its magnificent performance in the Mille Miglia that year, hill climb champion Bracco was enlisted at least once again, this time to drive the car at the Parma-Poggio de Berceto hill climb, where he again achieved first place overall. This appearance was followed by a hill climb entry by Vittorio Marzotto, where he also finished first overall at the Treponti-Castelnuovo event, sponsored by the Automobile Club di Padova.

At the end of 1950, the coachwork was modified, yet again, by Fontana for the 1951 season, with the addition of a fastback hardtop, along with the requisite ‘Berlinetta’ fixed windscreen, outside door handles and windscreen wipers, and now liveried in an apparent shade of silver.

By June, 1951, Chiodo was becoming obsolete in racing terms. However, never satisfied to give in to practical realities, the Marzottos pressed on and registered a form for the Italian tax authorities, specifying an increase from 23 to 29 taxable bhp. It is believed that Chiodo ran in August 1951 at the Giro di Calabria, driven by the Mancini brothers (#805), with 2,080 cc, finishing third overall, proving beyond any doubt that it was still competitive after all.

In the next recorded event for Chiodo, Scuderia Marzotto entered the German Grenzlandring with driver Franco Comotti, who placed second overall in September, 1951. This was followed later that month with an entry to the Gran Prix di Modena, where none other than Ferrari Grand Prix champion Froilan Gonzalez (the “Pampas Bull”) placed Chiodo sixth overall for the Marzottos.

The 1952 season for Chiodo began at the Gran Premio di Siracusa, again with Comotti at the wheel, who placed sixth overall–very respectable for a car now into its fourth year of competition. Comotti, yet again, was chosen to pilot the car at the Grand Prix of France at Montlhéry (DNF).

Remaining with Suderia Marzotto until the team’s liquidation in 1953, Chiodo was sold to Ferrari test driver Martino Severi, in a package with nine Ferraris, their transport truck and “a mountain of parts”. This lot was thereafter dispersed with some of the cars sold to the Mancini brothers of Rome, where Chiodo was likely utilised within the network of famed elder gentlemen drivers known as “The Roman Racers”, including Serina, Taraschi, Matrullo and Raffaeli.

As a final act of fate, it is said that Giannino Marzotto was approached for financial support by a broke and anxious Enzo Ferrari, circa 1953. Giannino agreed to invest, and Ferrari received its new lease on life to the great relief and benefit of automobile enthusiasts. The Marzottos’ contribution to the Ferrari legacy cannot be overstated.

The last recorded competition entry for Chiodo was as a Targa Florio entrant in 1955, in the hands of aging Roman racer Francesco Matrullo, in his last known race. A thrilling coda for Matrullo one imagines, but finally, Chiodo was, officially, no longer competitive. Interestingly, and documented by an event photograph, Chiodo now had a shortened wheelbase, reduced by some 150 mm. One can only speculate the reasons why, but as a warrior with an eight-season racing career, including noteworthy success as a hill climb champion, a shorter wheelbase might have provided some handling advantage on twisty ascents.

Fast forward to 1970. Chiodo resurfaces in a dark garage in south Rome, now with the auxiliary hard top removed but with the Fontana body remaining on the shortened original chassis. A single photograph of the car, looking forlorn and war weary, by Ferrari aficionado Corrado Cupellini, documents this. Cuppelini agreed to acquire the car, along with a 166 engine from the 1950 Marzotto Formula 2 Ferrari, 116MS, and proceeds with a light overhaul to get it into running condition. He then sold Chiodo to Jacques Thuysbaert in 1972. (Engine 116MS remains with Chiodo to this day. A more potent two-litre Ferrari powerplant was never produced; this is the 166 engine in its ‘ne plus ultra’ form.)

Around 1975, noted Ferrariste, author and historian Jess G. Pourret inspected the car for California Ferrari collectors Ed Niles and William A. Schnabacher. Mistaking Chiodo for the non-existent “09C”, they were expecting an F2 chassis from Scuderia Marzotto. Not realising they were standing before the ninth Ferrari to leave the factory, they send it back to Willy Felber’s Haute Performance SA in Morges, Switzerland, whereupon it was sold to Giuseppe Medeci of Reggio Emelia. Medeci embarked on its first restoration, which was entrusted to Autofficina Piero Mazzetti in 1976.

And so, Chiodo emerged roadworthy and was completed in time for entry into the first Mille Miglia Storica event, held 17-19 June 1977. The car, wearing race number 84, was piloted by the owners, Medici & Medici, helping to establish the Storica, which continues to this day as perhaps the most high profile of all the world’s historic revival road races.

Sometime later in 1977, Chiodo was sold back to Willy Felber, after which ownership was transferred to Jean Zanchi of Lausanne, Switzerland in 1978.

In 1979, Zanchi campaigned Chiodo in historic events, such as the Coupe de Lage d’Or at Montlhéry, Paris and the VII AVD-Oldtimer-Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in Germany, driven by Pierre De Siebenthal.

Zanchi raced Chiodo one last time in the Grand Prix of Lausanne, after which he decided it was time to restore the car properly, intending to replace the tired 40 year old metal that was then held together by rivets and plaster. Thankfully, he didn’t get very far…

In the late ‘90s, the current owner travelled from California to the small garage of Beppe Castagno, outside Turin, to inspect this enigmatic car and found what he was looking for. He purchased it mid-restoration, with the objective of saving the original body, chassis and the F2 engine and to restore Chiodo to its former glory from its penultimate 1950 season.

Castagno was initially commissioned to re-restore the car, but years later, with little progress made, the owner made the decision to collect the car and bring it to California, where he could more ably manage the process, entrusting Chiodo with top experts in the rarified field of early Ferrari restoration.

So, by the mid-2000s, the car was safely in California, with a game plan now formulated to use its remarkably intact 1950 Fontana body on the original chassis, extending them to their original proportions.

The engine, still the ex-Scurderia Marzotto 166 F2 unit, was rebuilt by master Ferrari technician Patrick Ottis of Berkeley, California. The fresh engine was dyno tested at 190+ bhp at 6000 rpm, impressive by any standards for a 2-litre, and outstanding power in a light car.

The chassis and body were ultimately sent to ‘preservationist-restorer’ Curtis Patience in Portland, Oregon. A veteran of Brian Hoyt’s Perfect Reflections, Curtice is also a world-class metalworker. As well as locating and confirming Chiodo’s original chassis number (012I), he found another original 166 Spyder Corsa chassis from which to confirm dimensions and engineering, along with original blueprints, which also served to ratify the chassis as an original Syper Corsa. Curtis’s ‘carchaeologist’ account of his own odyssey restoring the car is documented in the second quarter of the 2011 issue of the The Prancing Horse (#179), just as the project was reaching its wonderful finale.

Ultimately, Chiodo was sent to Ivan Zaremba and the inestimable team at Phil Reilly & Co. of San Rafael, California for final sorting, fettling and testing. This is one of the most critical stages in any ambitious restoration, but “Fortunately”, as Ivan says, “I’ve done this before”. This final phase was completed in January, 2012.

So, Bracco’s wondrous ‘nail’ has survived, a testament to its intrepid competition career and the enthusiastic, meticulous research and commitment to authenticity and excellence on ample display by its current owner, who has admirably resurrected a piece of living history. The car now speaks for itself, the product of the best minds and technicians in the Ferrari world today. Unveiled here for the first time since its completion, this important Ferrari is ready to be shown and/or enjoyed on the road. As a (twice) past competitor in the original Mille Miglia, it has virtually guaranteed entry acceptance into the MM Storica and indeed, for most any other historic event on the planet. And with 190 bhp on tap, Chiodo is once again prepared to dominate the field.

In February 1966, Ferrari débuted a new sports-racing car formulated for the FIA’s 2-litre Group 4 class, with hopes of winning over the numerous privateer teams that campaigned in Porsches. Dubbed the Dino 206 S, the car was powered by the development of the 65 degree V-6 engine that had been conceived by Dino Ferrari, prior to his death in June 1956.

Originally co-engineered by legendary Alfa Romeo designer Vittorio Jano, then working as a consultant for Ferrari, the Dino V-6 motor was badged with a hand scripted autograph based on the younger Ferrari’s signature. Though it was introduced as a Formula 2 powerplant, an enlarged version of the engine was subsequently used in the Formula 1 cars, carrying works driver Mike Hawthorn to a Driver’s World Championship in 1958. Whilst Ferrari’s Formula 1 cars of the early-1960s increasingly adopted 120 degree V-6 engines designed by Technical Director Carlo Chiti, the Jano-engineered 65 degree Dino engine was, nonetheless, consistently enlarged and developed in various experimental sports prototypes, including the 246 SP, the 206 SP, the 196 SP and the 166 P.

Introduced for the 1966 racing season, the Dino 206 S appeared to be a scaled down version of the revered 330P, even wearing similarly ravishing coachwork care of Piero Drogo’s Carrozzeria Sports Cars in Modena. The visual appeal of Drogo’s aerodynamic body shell, which featured a combination of stressed alloy panels and fibreglass over a welded tubular semi-monocoque, was beautifully complemented by the Dino V-6’s fierce performance. By the end of the 1966 race season, the 206 S had proved its mettle, earning a 2nd place finish at the Targo Florio, 2nd and 3rd at the Nürburgring and a 6th place finish at Spa. Although the 206 S was originally slated for a homologation of 50 examples, labour problems prematurely interrupted production after only 18 cars had been assembled, and the model, therefore, remains a rare and important milestone in the arc of the Dino race car’s development, as well as a cornerstone of the Ferrari road cars that followed.

Excluding the Factory Works prototype, this beautifully restored 206 S is just the third example produced. This car was initially purchased on 23 April 1966, by Colonel Ronnie J. Hoare of Maranello Concessionaires Racing Team of Egham, Surrey, England, an authorised Ferrari dealer and racing concern originally founded by champion driver Mike Hawthorn. Finished in Ferrari Racing Red with the recognisable Maranello Concesionairs blue stripe, 006 made its competition début at the RAC Tourist Trophy in Oulton Park, England. Renowned British driver Michael Parkes was behind the wheel, with number 42. Unfortunately, the car had to retire early with final drive issues, but it still placed 21st OA.

The following June, 006 started 12th on the grid at the 1,000 Kilometres of Nürburgring, piloted by two of the most famous British drivers, Richard Attwood and David Piper. By lap 28, the car had advanced to 5th in class and 8th place overall before retiring early due to mechanical issues. These teething problems led to further refinement of 006, resulting in its best performance yet at the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, where Mr Parkes drove the car to 6th place overall and 1st in class.

In August 1967, Maranello Concessionaires sold this Dino 206 S to Gustaf Dieden, through Tore Bjurstrom, the official Ferrari concessionaire of Sweden. The correspondence between Colonel Hoare and Thomas Bjurstrom is very well documented, with letters on file from the Maranello Concessionaire archive. Hoare noted, “I am delighted to hear that you have decided to buy my Ferrari Dino 206/s 006”. After briefly campaigning the Ferrari on the Knutstorp circuit, Dieden competed in a total of six local races, five in Sweden and one in Denmark. After an off-road excursion at Knutstorp, the car was returned to the factory to be repaired, as the left front corner had been damaged.

Mr Dieden subsequently advertised the car in Road and Track, with the advert reading, “This fabulous sports racing car was built in Autumn 1966 but modified to works specification at Maranello works during the winter, 1967. Only raced five times by a novice, and it is in beautiful condition throughout. This car is absolutely race ready”. The car was bought by Hans Wangstre of Malmo, Sweden, who brought in driver Evert Christofferson as a co-owner. Under the name Team Bam-Bam, Mr Wangstre and Christofferson campaigned chassis 006 in numerous international venues over the following year, such as the Hockenheimring in Germany and the ADAC 1,000 Kilometres of Nürburgring. Highlights of this period include a 15th place finish at the Good Friday Meeting at Oulton Park on 12 April 1968 and a 22nd place finish at the Targa Florio on 5 May.

In 1969, chassis 006’s legendary Dino V-6 finally succumbed to the rigors of racing, a common problem that was due to the imbalance of the crank shaft. As an identical replacement block was deemed to be too expensive for a car that was increasingly dated from a competition standpoint, an experimental Volvo B20 engine was installed, and the car’s racing career effectively ended.

Together with the components of the original engine, the car was sold to the current owner in 1970, who had fallen in love with a Maranello Concessionaires Ferrari 206 S that he saw at Le Mans as a young man.

There are many photos on file of when the current owner acquired the car, and he stated, “Everybody thought I was mad to spend this much money on an old car”. The car then went into storage, during which time he searched high and low to acquire a correct-type replacement engine for the car. In 1974, he contacted the factory and to his delight, found out that one engine was left over in the Maranello works. However, at the time, the asking price was two and a half times the price of the newly introduced Ferrari 246 Dino GTS. After years of additional research, he decided, in 1988, to restore the car back to its former glory. After a couple years of consultancy with the Ferrari factory and Motor Service Modena, the vendor eventually managed to obtain a set of drawings for the specialised 206 S block. The plan was to cast a new series of four blocks, as he had, by this time, also acquired Ferrari Dino 206 S 016, which also had a cracked block. The blocks were cast at the factory foundry and machined to the correct specifications before the unit intended for chassis 006 was installed in the car.

A complete restoration of 006 continued for a number of years, including testing of the new engine, stripping of the original body down to bare metal and refinishing the car. It has remained in the owner’s collection ever since, rarely seen in public. After so many years of continuous ownership and research, he has become one of the world’s leading experts on the Dino 206 S model, and it is precisely this knowledge base that has ensured that every detail on 006 is correct and accurate.

For the past two years, the car has been mechanically restored by Tim Samways, the world renowned specialist in sports and racing cars, who has also prepared many other sports prototypes, including the Ferrari P3. The engine has been totally rebuilt, along with the gearbox, the chassis was restored and the bodywork has been perfected and polished. Most recently, the car has been returned to its original livery, as it was campaigned by Maranello Concessionaires at the 1966 1,000 km of Nürburgring, wearing the famous number 14.

Aside from this fabulous restoration, 006 benefits from a thorough file of documentation, including a full correspondence record from Colonel Hoare through the last forty years, as well as a Ferrari Classiche certification. The most remarkable thing, of course, is that the car has been in single ownership since 1970, with only four owners from new.

Chassis 006 has been refitted with a freshly cast engine block, of which the specification is absolutely correct, as per Ferrari Classiche. The car’s original block stamped “006” is included with the sale of the car. Exceedingly rare and beautifully restored, this unique Dino 206 S is a highly desirable testament to the beauty and power of Ferrari’s race cars and Piero Drogo’s breathtakingly sculpted coachwork. 006 will doubtlessly attract the interest of dedicated Ferrari collectors and marque experts seeking to supplement their collections with an unusual piece of the Maranello racing legend. This particular car has to be one of the only examples in existence that has not been heavily crashed. Coming from single ownership over the last 40 years, it is a fine example for any collector and could be used in competition work.

• One of the 12 Vignale Sport Spyders produced
• Matching numbers of the 1950s open 12-cylinder Ferrari
• International period racing history
• First OA at the Bologna Raticosa Hill Climb
• 1953 Argentine Sports Car Championship winner; numerous wins in Argentina
• Highly documented in print and in photographs

The number of different sports-racers and variants built by Ferrari during the 1950s provides a fascinating demonstration of both the uncanny adaptability of the Ferrari organisation and its willingness to build and develop single-purpose models to meet the requirements of specific racing events. In particular, the 225S remains especially significant as the evolutionary link in Ferrari’s DNA, leading directly to its series of 3-litre V-12 racing cars, beginning with the 250 MM and progressing through to the 250 GTO of the early 1960s.

Only about 20 examples of the 225S were constructed through 1952 and 19 of them, comprising of 12 Spyders and seven Berlinettas, were clothed with purposeful yet rather elegant bodies by Alfredo Vignale. This Spyder, chassis 0192ET, is the sixth of the 12 Vignale Sport Spyders built, and its bodywork artfully blends form and function with the coach builder’s characteristic triple ovoid front-wing chrome portholes and such competition-oriented features as a pair of small double air intakes on the hood, plus a pair of intake ducts for rear-brake cooling and twin rows of triple air outlets on the hood.

The foundation of 0192ET was the highly specialised ‘Tuboscocca’ frame layout, with double tubular outer members joined by a truss-type configuration, providing exceptional strength, and the ‘skeleton’, supporting the body panels. The Tipo 212 gearbox was assembled on 20 March 1952, and on 20 March, the chassis was shipped to Carrozzeria Vignale in Torino to receive its bodywork. On 28 June, the engine was assembled and tested on 3 and 4 July, followed by an overhaul and further testing on 16 July. On 22 September 1952, 0192ET was sold by the Ferrari factory to first owner Giuseppe Viannini, an Alfa Romeo dealer domiciled in both Milan and Buenos Aires.

The first race outing for 0192ET was on 11 October 1952, at the Bologna-Raticosa hill climb in Italy, with Pietro Palmieri, and the car raced number328, where it placed 1st overall. Next, Mr Viannini exported 0192ET from Italy to Argentina, where it was painted yellow and red and raced. In late1952, Viannini sold the car to José Maria Ibañez, a resident of Buenos Aires, who raced it extensively and quite successfully. The 1953 season started with a 3rd place finish, where the car race-numbered 3 at the Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, with Ibañez at the wheel. He went on to race 0192ET at the Premio Verano, CAS, at the Autodromo Eva Peron at Mar del Plata, where, this time, he took first overall. In June, he was back on the track at the Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, where he placed 3rd overall. The season continued at the Premio Verano, where, again, he took 1st place, followed by the Grand Prix Governador Carlos Evans at Mendosa, where he finished 2nd overall. At the final two races of the season, in Buenos Aires, Ibañez placed 2nd overall in both events. These stellar results netted Ibañez and 0192ET the Argentine Sports Car Championship.

For 1954, 0192ET was refinished in two-tone red and white and campaigned in Brazil and Argentina, with both Ibañez and Rafael Sedano Acosta having driving duties. 0192ET posted several DNFs, with its best a sixth-place finish, with Acosta driving at the Premio Invierno, CAS, Autodromo de Buenos Aires. Its last known race during the ownership of Ibañez occurred on 19 December 19 1954 at Buenos Aires, with an 11th overall result.

By 1956, 0192ET was owned by Juan Manuel Bordeu, also of Argentina, at the Autodromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Next, 0192ET passed through Luis Tula Molina, a businessman from northeastern Argentina, under whom the car was repainted green with a black hood, and later, sold in 1958 to Luis Escoda, who had the car refinished in red with white upholstery. Interestingly, by some accounts, Escoda sold the car to the owner of a poultry farm for 450,000 pesos; however, it was raced on 18 October 18 1959 at the Parque de la Indipendenza at Rosario, Santa Fé, by past driver Rafael Sedano Acosta, who used the comical alias “El Rosarino”, and then, the car was reportedly sold that year by Escoda to his friend and fellow Argentinian, Alberto Luis Depego.

Depego entered 0192ET into the 31 January 1960 1,000 km of Buenos Aires, with him and Luis Escobar scheduled to co-drive, but the car did not start the race. The next known race entry for the 225S was 5 June, at the Autodrome of Buenos Aires (AAAS), where it was driven by Depego, race-numbered 5 and finished 6th overall. Engine failure forced a DNF in November 1960 at the 500 Milas Argentinas at Rafaela, Santa Fé, and the car posted a DNS that December at the Autodromo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, a fate that befell the car again at the same venue the following September.

Depego sold 0192ET in 1961 to Domingo Di Santo of Rio Cuarto, Cordoba, who damaged the engine during practice at the Cabalén racetrack, and subsequently, sold the Ferrari to another Argentinian, Humberto Evangelista. Mr Evangelista drove the car in competition through the end of 1966, with a second-place finish his best result, posted on 1 February 1963 at the Premio Ciudad de Chascomus. Thereafter, 0192ET was stored in Venado Turto near Buenos Aires, Argentina until 1980, when Hector Mendizabal acquired it. At this point, the 225S was painted red with a longitudinal yellow stripe and yellow decoration below the chrome strip on the body flanks, also sporting the script “Ferrari V12” on the sides.

The next major phase in the life of 0192ET began in 1980, when it was exported from Argentina to Italy by Mendizabal, subsequently passing to Giuseppe Bianchini, who commissioned its restoration in 1983. The body was restored by Carrozzeria Casella of Torino and painted dark red, whilst the mechanical restoration was performed by Gianni Torelli of Campagnola-Reggio Emilia, Italy, who is recognised as one of the best engineers when it comes to 1950s sports cars.

Once completed, 0192ET embarked on an equally active vintage racing career with Bianchini, beginning in May 1986, with entry into the Mille Miglia, followed by the AvD-Oldtimer-Grand Prix at the Nürburgring that year. Entries at the next four editions of the Mille Miglia followed with Bianchini, and then, in 1991, he sold 0192ET to one Mr Pederzoli of Modena, who raced the car at the Circuito delle Tre Province, placing 3rd. The next known race outing for 0192ET was the 1995 Mille Miglia. In 1996, Olivier Cazalières of Paris, France acquired the car, and in 1996/1997, AG Racing of Nice, France performed a mechanical restoration. Under Mr Cazalières, the car returned to the Mille Miglia in May 1998, and then, in late-June of that year, it contested the Ferrari Shell Historic Challenge at Dijon-Prenois, followed by July’s Coys International Historic Race Festival at Silverstone. In 1999, 0192ET was entered into the Tour Auto and Mille Miglia, the Shell Ferrari-Maserati Historic Challenge races during the L’Age d’Or meeting at Montlhéry and the “Tutte le Ferrari a Vallelunga” Shell Ferrari-Maserati Historic Challenge Finals.

The French enthusiast magazine Auto Passion published a colour feature on 0192ET in its July/August 1999 edition, and in February 2000, he displayed the 225S in a special Ferrari exhibit at Paris’ famed Retromobile show. Subsequent race outings during 2000 included the Ferrari Days at Spa-Francorchamps, 2000 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, and the Shell Historic Ferrari Maserati Challenge during the Ferrari Racing Days in Hockenheimring, Germany.

In 2003, 0192ET was sold and became a part of a very important collection based in Brescia, Italy. Under his ownership, 0192ET was driven that year at the Le Mitiche Sport a Bassano meeting and most appropriately, the 2005 and 2007 editions of the Mille Miglia. Campaigned with few interruptions ever since new and accompanied by an extensive collection of photographs, 0192ET is very well-documented, having been pictured in the official Ferrari Yearbook 1953, issue 158 of the Prancing Horse, the Ferrari Club of America magazine, and within the definitive book Ferrari Argentina, Sports Cars, authored by Cristian Bertschi and Estanislao Iacona. Incredibly rare, steeped in history throughout its life and highly documented with remarkable provenance, 0192ET remains simply impressive as one of Ferrari’s groundbreaking early-1950s sports racers, with striking open coachwork by Vignale.

Rightly regarded as one of the most beautiful GT cars ever created, the 250 GT/L was the final iteration of Ferrari’s celebrated 250 series. Popularly known as the Lusso (Italian for “luxury”), the new car débuted at the 1962 Paris Motor Show and drew instant acclaim for its curvaceous and perfectly proportioned Pininfarina design, which was hand built at Sergio Scaglietti’s workshop in Modena. Though it was conceived and marketed as a luxurious grand touring evolution of the renowned 250 short wheelbase berlinetta, the new model combined chassis elements of the celebrated race car with greater creature comforts, whilst retaining characteristic Ferrari performance. The elegant interior featured true bucket seats with leather upholstery and a unique instrument panel centred by two large dials for the rev counter and speedometer, which were angled towards the driver for optimal functionality. Only 350 examples of the Lusso were built over the model’s short two-year production run, and it remains one of the most admired and desirable Ferraris of all time.

This exceptional Lusso has the distinction of being the fourth to last car built, and therefore, is one of the very last of the legendary 250 series Ferraris, essentially marking the end of a golden era of Ferrari production, which included the iconic 250 GTO. As clarified by the research of marque historian Marcel Massini, this car was initially sold on 28 July 1964 to Francesco Di Benedetto, a Sicilian residing in Caltanissetta, Italy. Records reflect that Mr Di Benedetto returned the Lusso to the Ferrari Factory Assistenza Clienti in Modena twice over the next two years, dutifully servicing his cherished car.

This 250 GT/L was passed to at least one more Italian owner before being purchased in the 1970s by Reinhard Sammüller of Munich, Germany. By 1979, the 5947 GT had been acquired by Peter Groh of Stuttgart, who in June 1980 exhibited the car at the Auto Becker Ferrari meet at the Nürburgring. After trading hands in Germany once more, the car was sold to Jurgen Persch, the owner of the Kümmerling Schnapps Distillery in Bodenheim, Germany. In 1989, 5947 GT found a more permanent home when Mr Persch sold the handsome Ferrari to Peter Kaus, owner of the famed Rosso Bianco Collection. Within the climate controlled storage of the impressive collection, which once boasted Germany’s greatest assemblage of Italian sports and racing cars, the Lusso enjoyed 17 years of meticulous care and sparing use.

Subsequent owners included Dr Colin Kolles, a Romanian residing in Ingolstadt, Germany, from whom it was purchased by its most recent registered owner in 2010 and treated to a full rotisserie restoration in Italy. Ferrari expert Toni Franco’s well known Autofficina in Maranello was retained to conduct a thorough mechanical rebuild, whilst Tappezzeria Luppi of Modena installed a brand new interior of proper black leather.

The restoration also included a high quality bare-metal repaint in the car’s original colour of Azzurro Metallizzato (blue metallic). In this beautifully restored state, a condition highlighted by the presence of the original matching numbers engine and the striking original colour scheme, 5947 GT was issued a Ferrari Classiche certification on 28 June 2011.

Presenting with distinctive panache, this superbly restored 250 GT/L is a mechanically fresh and cosmetically arresting example that wears one of Pininfarina’s most revered designs of all time. Still every bit as sportingly elegant as at the time of its Paris début in 1962, this exquisite Lusso bears stunning testimony to one of the greatest GT cars ever devised and will surely draw the interest of the most discerning collectors and tifosi worldwide.

The 250 GTE was an enormous commercial success for Ferrari, as the marque’s first production grand tourer. Between the introduction at the 1960 Paris Salon and the evolution into models fitted with a four-litre V-12, almost 1,000 cars were built.

The GTE has the same 2,600 mm wheelbase as the legendary 250 GT LWB Tour de France, but moving the engine forward in the chassis and widening the track of both the front and rear wheels increased the interior space significantly. Although a larger car with luxury and creature comforts, the model was pure Ferrari. The chassis was clothed in a svelte Pininfarina steel body with aluminium bonnet, doors and boot lid. With disc brakes, Nardi steering wheel, leather-trimmed seats and interior, chrome-rimmed Veglia instruments and Borrani wire wheels, the car was both luxurious and sporting. A top speed very close to 225 km/h delivered on the promise.

The example presented here was the subject of a comprehensive, professional nut and bolt restoration, during which the body was removed from the chassis. Upon being stripped for paint, it was clear that the body was in excellent condition and showed no signs of previous accident damage. Noted specialists, Touring Garage, performed the outstanding work in 2005, and full records of the restoration accompany the car–as does a proper set of tools. Restored Borrani wheels and new tyres were fitted as well. The current owner acquired the 250 GTE in 2007 and placed it within his 30 car collection, driving it only an approximate 500 km ever since. The car is beautifully presented throughout and remains a highly attractive example of a short-lived yet very drivable series within the greater history of four-seat Ferraris.